Translated from Armenian by Bedros Norehad (New York, 1964), minor corrections by Dr. Robert Bedrosian. The Life of Mashtots' is a biography of Mesrop Mashtots', a 5th century Armenian linguist who created the Armenian, Georgian, and Aghuanian alphabets. It was written by Mashtots' youngest pupil, Koriwn. The author implies that he wrote his work several years after the death of Mesrop at the request of the then acting Catholicos Yovsep'. However, according to Ghazar P'arpets'i, Koriwn's superior, Catholicos Yovsep' was taken prisoner and martyred by the Iranians shortly after the battle of Awarayr (450-451). It is difficult to see how Koriwn could have received his directive from Yovsep' to write concerning Mashtots' after Yovsep's arrest in 450-451. Furthermore, prince Vasak Siwnik', who defected to the Iranians during the battle and subsequently was transformed into the traitor par excellence in Armenian literature, is praised by Koriwn as a brave and wise man. It appears, therefore, that this work was written before the Armenian rebellion.

Koriwn notes that his teacher passed away in the first year of the Iranian king Yazdgard II, son of Vahram, i.e., in 440, and that Mesrop's colleague Sahak died in 439. He states elsewhere that the students of Sahak assembled "year after year" to honor their teacher's memory. Thus Manuk Abeghyan calculated that Koriwn wrote his biography not immediately after Mashtots's death, but around 443. This is supported by another of Koriwn's remarks, namely that three years after Mashtots's death (25) Vahan Amatuni constructed a church over his grave (26). Abeghyan suggested that the Life of Mashtots' was written during the period 443-51. Zipped HTML file.

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